Riding cars was a part of our lives, they save us time and make us more mobile. Cars fit so easily into everyday life that people often forget about the dangers associated with transport. But our children are the same road users as we are.
According to traffic police statistics over the past year in Russia, more than 20.5 thousand children and adolescents (up to 16 years old) were injured in accidents, 710 of them died. And if you introduce statistics in the world, then we will talk about hundreds of thousands of injured minors.
But adults should take care of their safety on the road. To protect your loved ones, it is worth remembering several important points.
True: emergencies occur close to home
In the media, we regularly hear about major accidents on intercity and busy routes, however, tragedies occur regardless of the location of the roads and the distance of the trip. Accidents involving children more often occur within the city on a regular city road, on the way to a kindergarten, school, store or the nearest park. Statistically precisely such incidents the vast majority. Therefore, always be vigilant and careful, do not forget about seat belts for yourself and your child, even if the trip is five minutes to the nearest grocery store. Always fasten your child, no matter how close to your destination.If your children are under twelve, take care of a car seat or booster. Approach his choice with all responsibility, without neglecting the quality of the product. Always be an example for a child, getting into a car - buckle up.
True: older children are at greater risk than babies and toddlers
As a rule, children aged 4-8 receive the most damage. Often this is not due to the peculiarity of emergency situations, or accident, but to the fact that adults begin to neglect the safety rules of the child in the car. After the baby grows out of the “infant” car seat, parents begin to save and spare money for the purchase of a new car seat, appropriate for the age of the child. Children forget to fasten, carry in the front seat, contrary to general recommendations.It is believed that children under 12 years old should ride behind, because during a head-on collision their location will be farthest from the most severe damage to the car, and they will not hit the dashboard. The impact on the front seat is much softer.
Misconception: large tall cars (SUVs, jeeps) are safer than other types of cars
There is an opinion that off-road driving is much safer than driving on sedans and hatchbacks, since the former are taller and larger. Nevertheless, crash tests show that jeeps are not safer than regular sedans, on the contrary, because of their size it is easier for them to roll over during a collision.
Misconception: in a parked car, the child is 100% safe
Traffic police data indicate the opposite. Hundreds of children are injured and even die as a result of accidents in a parked car. There are several common causes of child mortality in such situations.
- The child can strangle the door glass;
- The car can be removed from the parking brake and start moving;
- The baby can climb into the luggage compartment through the rear seat when folded, and if suddenly the seat returns to the upright position, the child gets stuck in it;
- Most often, children die as a result of suffocation from overheating in a locked car. Therefore, never leave your child alone in the car even for the shortest time.
In the US, parents can be prosecuted if they leave the baby in the car alone. In our country, there is a system of fines in such situations (Article 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
True: a child may be hit by a car, other persons driving it
Statistics show that there are frequent cases when a child suffers from someone else's car in a parking lot or parking lot. About four hundred children die each year as a result of car collisions driven by others, although there are regular campaigns to inform drivers.
Teach your child to hold your hand while walking in the parking lot, and be careful and attentive. There have been recorded cases when the assaults occurred even through the fault of children unattended in the car.
Terrill Struttmann, executive director of the children's car safety education organization, knows that this fact applies to each parent firsthand. His two-year-old son was hit by a car that accidentally rolled due to the fault of two children playing in it unattended.
Remember that, being in the parking lot and getting out of it, it is necessary to hold the child by the hand and be extremely careful.
We also read: Is it possible to carry a child in the front seat of the car: age restrictions, traffic rules and all the pros and cons
Child safety in the car
